THUNDERCATS: CHEETARA #1 (DYNAMITE COMICS)
In her first solo ongoing series, Cheetara is troubled by visions that take her away from her iconic ThunderCats team and into a magical, mystery adventure.
Good thing she’s been here before.
ThunderCats: Cheetara #1 - Writer: Saladin Ahmed | Artist: Andrea Ancari |Colorist: Andrew Dalhouse | Letterer: Jeff Eckleberry | Publisher:Dynamite, with a new direction on the ThunderCats mythos
ThunderCats: Cheetara #1 - Writer: Saladin Ahmed | Artist: Andrea Ancari |Colorist: Andrew Dalhouse | Letterer: Jeff Eckleberry | Publisher: Dynamite
*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***
“We are all royalty. We are all mutations. The song needs the book. The book needs the song.”
These words haunt Cheetara throughout her first ongoing series, keeping her up at night and isolating her from her team, her family. She waves it off, dismissing them as only dreams, vivid as they are. But somehow, she knows that her “very life depends on her unraveling its meaning.”
Saladin Ahmed gives us a solid introduction for newbie readers like me to who and what Cheetara is all about. A seer from birth and a seasoned warrior, she is a crucial member of the ThunderCats, and Ahmed makes no qualms about her place with them.
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Little character details, too, like her refusal to want her team to see her weak. It’s almost delusional how she swears it’s not a pride thing. Or maybe I’m reading
too deep into it, but either way, those stood out to me. It paints a clear picture of a self-aware leader, who puts others before herself, to her detriment.
It’s a small thing, but I’d prefer a first-person point-of-view in the writing, just because I’d like to see exactly what’s going on in Cheetara’s head, but Ahmed is still writing his tail off.
“She is on her own. But she is not afraid.” *shivers.
While running to clear her head of the questions and the visions, we get a peek into her fighting prowess as she saves a Trollog child from three Giantors in a Third Earth jungle. Here, Andrea Arcari’s art shines, from Cheetara’s hard- hitting fight scenes to her expressive realization that she’s not the only one who hears the words. That look of determination after finding clarity? *Chef’s kiss.
He, along with Andrew Dalhouse’s colors, makes such sharp, crisp details in places I didn’t expect, like in the purple blades of grass at The Temple of Song, or that glint in her eye on the ship she’s been taken to. This is incredible work.
FINAL GRADE: 7.5
ThunderCats: Cheetara #1 is a solid first issue. It’s an easily accessible entry point for new readers, and a great introduction for a strong female character done with love and care. The art is crisp and expressive and I expect more work out of Andrea Arcari in the future.
What y’all think? Am I trippin’? Let me know your thoughts on ThunderCats: Cheetara #1in the comments below. Thanks for reading.